Vacation!

Dean & I are off this week. YAY!! We don't have any plans, we're just hanging out. Saturday we ran a few errands & did some work in the yard. You may remember our uninvited guest from Memorial Day.
He won't be visiting again. I almost passed out during the process of murdering him. I swear this is the snake that wouldn't die. At one point I had him pinned down with one shovel while Dean was attempting to decapitate him with another.

We know this is the same snake from Memorial Day because my brother knew he'd sliced into his tail. You can see the wound in the above pic. Trust me, it didn't slow him down any.

Sunday was Father's Day so we spent the day in the pool & eating. Dean cooked for our parents, his mawmaw & my brother & sis in law & Logan.

Logan, Dean & Scott all going after the diving sticks.

Logan took swimming lessons for the first time a few weeks ago. He was showing us how he can swim now. It's really amazing what they can teach them in 8 days!
Logan loves to get a prize. So this was his prize for showing us what he learned at swimming lessons.
He kept telling us "it's a really really big turtle".
He wanted us both on the turtle so here we are.
Someone enjoyed his cupcakes.
What is this you ask?? This is one of the best things I've ever eaten - Crawfish Pie!!! Dean's mom made it with fresh crawfish that Dean's dad caught. Sooooo good!

Sunday morning I had another 5 mile run. I set the clock for 6:00. I wanted to eat a little something & drink some water before the run. I had half an english muffin with peanut butter. The run went really, really well. So much better than last week.  I had a pedicure Friday afternoon & a guy did it which I don't really care for but he did a great calf massage. I think it probably loosened me up some. I even felt great after the run & yesterday!
That would be calories burned!

Sunday night was LSU's first game in the College World Series. What a bummer. They lost.

Monday we went & saw The Hangover III. It was funny! I liked it better than the second one.

Today we cleaned the closet (I'll have pics later), had lunch at Walk Ons, Yogurtland for dessert & now we're watching LSU's game. They're losing again. sigh.

Toodles!

Suck It Up Buttercup!

These days are back.

Not a good pic but the 100 degrees is what I wanted you to see. Let's not even talk about the humidity. Seriously, it's awful!!!!

Sunday morning I had big plans. The alarm was set for a little before 6:00 so I could run before the aforementioned heat became unbearable. I had to run 5 mi. YIKES! I was scared but my friend Cindy was going to run at least 3 miles of that with me. She just finished her 3 or 4th Triathlon! Yeh, well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. I woke up to thunder & rain. Great. I know there's a chance that I'll have to run in the rain when I run the actual half marathon but I wasn't subjecting myself to thunder & a storm. It's important to stay on my schedule especially for the long runs. I need to do those on the weekends when I don't have to get to work. Luckily, about 10:00 the storms were gone. There were more expected later so I was hoping for a nice cloudy run. That did not happen. Bright, shiny, hot sun the entire run but I did it. I may have felt like dying the last mile but I did it.

Pay no attention to the May 26 date. That's the only thing I don't like about this program/app. You have to enter the date of your race & it counts back to tell you when to start. I guess most people don't start 7 or 8 months prior to a race. Y'all know I always talk about how I'm faster when I run once the sun is up? Really weird to me because it's hotter then too. Anyway, my splits were about the same as they are when I run a shorter distance. I was happy to see that. After my run I got straight into the pool. Yep, I had my swimsuit bottoms on under my running shorts & a sports bra makes for a perfectly acceptable swim top. HA! I assure you that wouldn't happen if I was anywhere other than in my backyard. While I was in the pool I swam laps.

Monday was a true rest day. I didn't do any exercise at all. However, I was starving all day! I tried not to go crazy but I'm wondering if I'm eating enough. How weird is that? I need a dietitian or someone who knows about these things to help. 

Tuesday I went to Yoglates. Monday night I saw on FB that my normal teacher wasn't going to be there. The "crazy chick" was teaching. She's the one that's 25, skinny, skinny, runs marathons & apparently thinks everyone in class is the same. I did not want to go. I immediately started trying to rearrange my schedule. It wasn't going to work though. Dean told me to "Suck it up & go". So that's what I did. It was rough & it was hot & watching her in yoga pants, 2 shirts & a sweatshirt in a 90 degree room was almost enough to make me keel over but 45 minutes & 444 calories later I was done. I'm glad I went though. She said she'd be teaching that particular class quite a bit this summer so it looks like I'm stuck with her.

Today was another run. This time only 3.5 mi. Easy peasy after 5 mi. right? Yeh, not so much. 76 degrees with 97% humidity isn't fun.
Slow today. Well, slower than normal but again I did it & while I'd like to be faster I'm not stressing out about it. I'm 39 years old & have never been anything close to an athlete, I'm lucky I'm running at all. The good thing about the run is this
That's calories burned. I would really like a Garmin or Polar or one of those other fancy watches with the heart rate monitor &GPS. Mine only has the heart rate monitor. That would be a good birthday gift. Never in a million years did I expect to want a running watch for my 40th birthday. Or anything else exercise related for that matter. I always envisioned diamonds.....which would still be nice too.

I spent some time like this the last few nights.
I'm trying to prevent shin splints. Although, they're a little sore today. This is also me being too lazy to fill up the ice pack with ice.

In honor of my 5 mi. run & yoglates with the crazy chic I've rewarded myself with this.

Who would've ever thought I'd want this as a reward?????

Toodles!

Somewhere in Middle America

I mentioned that my weekend would be spent at Alex Box Stadium. Luckily, it was just Friday night & Saturday night.

I didn't take this pic. I got it from LSU's FB page. Pretty cool looking. Friday night was THE BEST game that I've seen in a long, long time. It definitely lived up to all the hype. Not to mention the game only lasted 2:18. That rarely happens. We were able to make it to a friends birthday party before it got too late.
Saturday I spent a lot of time in the pool before the game. This game wasn't nearly as good or as short. There was a 52 min. rain delay without any rain too.  LSU won & that was awesome! Next up.....
Somewhere in Middle America..... GEAUX TIGERS!!!

How was y'alls weekend?

5 on Friday!!!

In honor of it being Friday I'm linking up with the ladies at The Good Life.

 

1. I told y'all I was celebrating National Running Day with Yogurtland.
Cheesecake & Red Velvet Cake Batter with cheesecake bites, mini M&M's & crushed up Reeses. I told myself I was going to get fresh strawberries. Alas, my hand went directly for the candy.

2. I love having pretty nails. You can have your hair in a ponytail & no makeup on but if your nails look pretty you look more put together. I'd taken a break from my beloved gel nails but I went back to them yesterday.
A very light, shimmery pink is what I was in the mood for.
It's called Pink-A-Doodle
The finished product! Anyone read palms out there?? Please tell me all of those lines don't just mean I'm getting old.
3. I was happy, happy, happy when I saw this offer on Facebook

Starbucks for a buck??? YES PLEASE!!!

4. It's Super Regionals in Baton Rouge!
LSU vs. Oklahoma baseball, Nola vs Gray, best of 3 goes to Omaha. It should be fun!

5. When I'm not at LSU this weekend I plan to be in the pool.
There are some weeds to be pulled - I think I could do that every single day - but a lot of my time will be spent on a float with my Nook!

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!

Go run!

Maybe you've heard.
It's National Running Day! YAY!! Aren't you excited??? I am. Mainly because I see these things on Twitter & FB & I could never say I participated before but today I can! I ran 3.5 miles this morning before work. I've been back into the half marathon training plan for a couple of weeks & that means Sunday I'm supposed to run 5 miles. YIKES! I'm nervous.

I think I'm going to celebrate National Running Day with Yogurtland. I swear I love that stuff. It reminds me of my high school days when I worked at Zack's Frozen Yogurt. Best job EVER!! Best boss ever too!

Have I mentioned how hot it is these days? It's HOT! At 5:00 am when I started my run it was 75 degrees. That may not sound hot but with the humidity it is. That's why I run so early.  I've never paid so much attention to the weather until I started running. It's weird.

For anyone who reads this blog on even a semi-regular basis this will come as no surprise to you. I can't cook. Just when I think maybe I'm getting better I screw something up. I saw a recipe for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad & it looked so good so I tried it. Here's where the problem came in.  The recipe listed the ingredients as 1 cup uncooked Quinoa, 2 cups water. OK fine. Then the directions say "Fill a medium pot with water". Now, I am very technical when it comes to cooking. I do EXACTLY what the recipe says. So this means I filled the pot up with water & added the Quinoa. When it was finished cooking I had WAAAY too much water. I stared at it awhile. I asked Dean for advice. I stared at it some more. I tried to ladle out the water. Then I took his advice & through it away & started over. I figured out that I could've made this salad much quicker & without all the trouble if the recipe would've just said "Cook the Quinoa according to the directions on the box, then add vegetables".  sigh. It ended up being very good & something I'll make again. Maybe one day I'll get this cooking thing down. Or at least be able to follow directions better.

Toodles!

Is it really Monday?

Seriously, I just left this desk. It couldn't possibly have been 2 days ago. sigh.

LSU won Friday afternoon. You know the game I talked about not being interested in? The one that if they lost wasn't something I would've wanted to see? THANK GOODNESS I didn't waste vacation time on that debacle. They managed to win but good grief it was ugly. I swear that wasn't the same team we've been watching all year.

We started the weekend with our regular stop at Caliente.
What is it with me & blue drinks? I didn't even know this one was blue when I ordered it.

Saturday was supposed to be a rest day as for as working out goes. It didn't really go that way. I decided that I'm annoyed with the irises in my yard. I love the purple blooms, I love how they look at the beginning of the season but when they start flopping over I HATE THEM. Hate outweighed love & I pulled a bunch up. It was HARD WORK. I should've taken pictures of the roots on those things. Did I mention I have a lot of them because they multiply like crazy? I think I could pour gas on them & they'd survive. I only did one small section. They were starting to smother one of my other plants. I'm hoping I saved it from strangulation. It was soooo hot. When I was finished with a small area I couldn't take it anymore & got in the pool. I swam some laps. I didn't get carried away, I only did 20 but I could definitely feel it.

Saturday night before the game we ate at new place near the stadium called Leroy's. BEST burger I've had in awhile. It was on a sour dough bun & was just like a homemade burger. DELISH!

When we got to game I met up with someone I haven't seen in 12 years.
Seth was the little brother of one of LSU's players that played in '00-'01. He was 10 the last time I saw him. His family tailgated with us & we traveled all over the SEC. It was a lot of fun. I remember Seth sleeping in his mom's trunk (the trunk was open) & he had his own cheers for his brother & some of the other guys. Dean has seen him several times over the last couple of seasons but it was always at games that I wasn't at. He's now a senior at LSU. I wouldn't have recognized him. I felt very, very old. I HATE hot my hair looks in this picture. It was HOT & it was in a ponytail & I couldn't stand my bangs on my forehead. UGH.

The sky looked really cool when the game started. Speaking of the game, the same team that played Friday showed up Sat. Again, they managed to pull out a win after 4 HOURS!!!

Yesterday, I got up at 6:30 to go for a run. I'm trying to beat the heat but it was still hot! Luckily, it was cloudy. After the 4 hour debacle that was Saturday's game I took a 2 1/2 hour nap Sunday. Y'all know I need my sleep. The game ended up being only 3 hours which means I got to sleep at 11:00.  Good thing I took that nap. I'm still really tired today.

I treated myself to Yogurtland yesterday too.
Red Velvet Cake Batter is soooo good! I mixed it with cheesecake & had cheesecake bites, Reeses & mini M&M's. YUMMMM!! What is it about cold M&M's?? They're so good.

I stole this pic from a friend. We had some really cool looking sunsets at The Box this weekend.
So, it's back to counting down to the weekend. Isn't that what everyone does on a Monday??

Toodles!

12.55

In the last 8 days I've ran 12.55 miles. I know that's not a ton like some people but for me it's awesome! Aside from the runs, I've swam laps & gone to Yoglates twice. It's been HOT!!! Like really, really hot. This morning at 4:45 when I got up it was 75 degrees. That may sound nice to some of you but when you factor in the 80% humidity it's not nice at all. I just wanted to get in the pool when I got back but there's that thing called a job that got in the way of that. UGH!

I stole this from my sis-in-laws FB wall. It's so true. I had only ran 0.8 of a mile this morning & was
sooooo ready to stop. The rest of the run went by fast & the more I ran the better I felt. It's weird but the first mile is always my hardest.

The LSU Baseball team starts Regional play today at the God awful time of 2:00. I've said before, our coach is moron. In what world is it better to play when it's 87 degrees, 80% humidity & under the blazing hot sun rather than at 7:00 tonight when it's only 83, humidity is down & THERE'S NO SUN???? Well, guess who won't be there??? THIS GIRL. LSU is playing Jackson State, which is a SWAC school, which means they don't play as tough of a schedule as LSU so this SHOULDN'T be a very good game. I don't want to take vacation to watch that & have to sit in the heat. Yes, I'm a baby. Not to mention I think I've sweated my allotted amount of sweat already today. Should LSU happen to lose it's a game that I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see so it's a win win for me. I'll sit at work in the A/C & watch on the ESPN app.

Speaking of work, things are better. Thanks goodness!! We have a new boss. He's my friend & already works with us. It's only on an interim basis now but we're hoping it will become permanent. We're scared of outsiders!! There are other changes & one involves this.
How does my job have anything to do with a Starbuck's Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frap you ask??? Well, one of the other guys that I work for that is also our friend will be working out of the office for the majority of the time now. He's my SB buddy. He makes Starbucks runs for us during the day. Not everyday but often. Sometimes all I have to do is tweet about needing caffeine. HA! Soooo with him not being in the office & sometimes not even in Baton Rouge I'll be doing without. sigh. It's a tough life I know.  

Anyone have any good plans for the weekend? I'll be at the LSU games Saturday & Sunday & hopefully have some pool time. Tomorrow will be my off day from running & working out. I'm looking forward to that.

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!